mitigate ongoing actual threats to stop plots, prevent future attacks and, again, save american lives. these strikes are legal, they're ethical and wise. >> drones have been used to take out more than 400 terrorist targets in pakistan and the middle east. this program is expected to be a focus point tomorrow when senate confirmation hearings begin for john brennan, president obama's nominee to head the cia. a powerful earthquake that hit the south pacific. it struck near the solomon islands and generated a tsunami wave over three feet high and reports are saying that at least five people were killed. people were evacuated in fiji. warnings that have been issued have been canceled. some homes were seriously damaged by the waves there. as a young victim of the alabama standoff celebrates his 6th birthday today. this as investigators continue to comb the underground fortress and property of his captor.

>> reporter: the fbi released these photos of the suspect's property, along with more detailed information about the rescue of 5-year-old ethan. nbc news has learned as a result of ongoing negotiations, the kidnapper, jimmy lee dykes. was expecting a delivery of additional comfort items. four members of the hostage team approached the bunker and opened the hatch dropping in a flash bang device to distract dykes. he was disoriented but managed to fire one shot. the hostage team shot and killed dykes and then rescued ethan. they found explosive devices, one inside the bunker and one in the ventilation pipe shown in this photo. ethan spent the night in the hospital monday after the dramatic rescue and is now said to be physically fine. >> he was running around the hospital room, putting sticky notes on everyone that was in there.

eating a turkey sandwich and watching spongebob. >> reporter: tuesday night in midland city, the community came together for an early birthday celebration. ethan turned 6 on wednesday. senate democrats on a retreat in maryland will get a visit from the president today as he rallies support for his second-term budget, including a request to delay automatic spending. nbc tracie potts has reaction from republicans and the latest nonpartisan budget forecast. good morning. >> richard, good morning. make that $85 billion worth of automatic spending cuts. the president says while congress works on a permanent budget, they need to delay these cuts by passing another temporary fix. but republicans really want to focus on spending cuts, not nearly enough of them, they say. also this morning, we have word from the nonpartisan congressional budget office that for the first time since president obama has been in office, we can see a deficit

under $1 trillion. $884 billion is what they are suggesting. they think unemployment will go up through the next couple of years, but federal revenue, the amount of money coming into the government going up by 25%, in part, because of the fiscal cliff deal. also because the economy is improving. richard? >> tracie, we'll take under 1 trillion right now. thank you. a major decision expected today from the boy scouts of america. national board members set to vote on whether to lift a decade's long band on gay leaders and scouts. the final day of a three-day meeting of officials. a controversial issue drawing fire from both sides and putting one of the country's largest youth organizations under a microscope. president obama said over the weekend that scouting should be open to everyone while texas governor rick perry expressed the opposite opinion. if board members scrap that policy, they will be able to decide for themselves to admit gays to their ranks there.

on the heels of the boy scout's decision, the pentagon is announcing a paolicy shift fr service members and their partners. expand some benefits to same-sex partners of military personnel. new perks like issuing military i.d. cards and granting access to various spots on bases or posts are said to be included. however, it remains doubtful that medical, dental and housing allowances offered under the new proposal. an extension of those benefits would require the repeal of the 1996 defense of marriage act. all right, now, for a look at weather. do we want a trough or nor'easter? depending on what side of the country you're on. >> weakest-type storm and areas in the northeast, you can get a big winter storm. anyone has any flight plans or travel across the country on friday, they want to reconsider, especially in new england. that's, again, 48 hours away. the storm coming into the west, a good deal of energy and a lot of storm system into the west

here associated and link up with the storm that's going to move into new england. so, it has a little bit of a kick to it. numerous showers out here, high pressure should be a sunny morning in many cases. this front lingering down here in southern california. still low clouds possibly around oceanside down to san diego. you notice the onshore flow continues and scattered showers, especially the high elevation and snow levels have dropped a little bit, not a lot. this isn't a lot of moisture source. in the next storm that comes in, it will drag some of that moisture with showers down into areas that are clear this morning in medford, southward along the coast, you may get wet weather. we're not expecting any from san francisco south of there. the forecast yesterday, hit and miss showers, especially in the

monterey. eventually some of the showers are going to make their way into southern california. i'll tell you when, coming up. >> bill karins, always a gentleman. great explanation. >> you didn't need to pull the curtain. >> i don't know what i'm saying, thanks a lot, bill. a different odd couple in the middle east is making lawmakers very nervous. plus, a federally funded mock school massacre video cross the line from training tool to copy cat ad? "early today" is back in two minutes.

welcome back. here are some stories making news this morning. president obama is building support for his immigration support plan. meeting at the white house as they create a guest worker program to allow future immigrants to come to the u.s. legally. the president will make his first visit to israel this

spring for talks that might repair a strange relationship. modesto, california, reaction to police staging a mock massacre at a school to teach students and staff how to stop an attack like the shootings in connecticut. critics are saying, though, using fake blood and pretending to shoot the shooters is too traumatic after sandy hook. charged with new crimes. bobbie jo maxwell will answer for three new murders. investigators say maxwell was the skid row stabber from the 1970s. some new york state republican lawmakers want to limit governor andrew cuomo's use of his powers to pass the strongest gun control move in the country. steven mclaughlin object to voting on the bill the same night it was introduced. >> don't question it, just vote. that's basically the message here. hitler would be proud, mussolini would be proud of what we did

here. moscow would be proud. but that's not democracy. >> the comments were immediately rejected by leaders of both parties and mclaughlin apologized. spectacular new images from nasa of the spiral galaxy, which is only 20 million light years from earth. short jaunt. one of the brightest galaxies near us and at its center a massive black hole, but, man, that's beautiful. take you to health news. diet soda will help keep the calories down but won't help you keep sober. drinking diet soda as a mixer with alcohol intensifies the booze. they were 20% intoxicated than those who use regular soft drinks. "early today" health is brought to you by vagisil, bring yourself back. as the power struggle between bulls and bears continue to stay, earnings continue to flood the street. keep an eye on disney today. beat earning estimates for the end of 20 12 and revealed big

news for "star wars" fans. those details coming up in entertainment. zynga shot up on strong profit and revenue. online gamers. mexican fast food chain chipotle was higher on sales. liberty global struck a deal to buy britain's virgin media for about $23 billion in a move that puts u.s. billionaire john malone up against rupert murdoch. the fbi arrested 18 thieves on tuesday. ring leaders in a massive credit card scam who allegedly created thousands of fake identities to steal millions of dollars over the last decade. meanwhile, the federal reserve is admitting one of its internal websites were hacked. this after the group claimed it struck the fed on sunday. the central bank says no critical funks were compromised, though. the state of florida is in

hot water with female executives over a $380,000 ad campaign to attract new business. instead, it's getting slammed for being sexist because the letter i in florida has been replaced with a bright orange men's neck tie. a new study finds wasting time on the internet at work is even more common than you think. researchers at kansas state university claim between 60 and a whopping 80% of screen time at the office is spent cyberloafing. the official turn for watching cute animals or shopping online at the office. meanwhile, according to a new pew center survey, more and more web users, some 61% report taking breaks from facebook for weeks at a time. the reasons here, everything from changing privacy policies to disagreements and just too much drama. it takes time, too. sports highlights, including a major upset in college football. plus, drivers came across a bizarre sight in philly. these alert firefighters who

escape a dangerous explosion not a moment too soon.

and now to some stories that caught our eye this morning. in washington state, newly released video shows a very close call for two firefighters reminiscent of the movie "backdraft" they ran just before an explosion of flames and ember. amazing video here.

the three alarm fire completely destroyed an elementary school over the weekend. in philadelphia, morning commuters came across a rather bizarre site. it looks like serious partying went down with a giant keg. that was not the case. a low overpass knocked the steel tank off the truck hauling it to a scrapyard. in wisconsin, one university added sparkle to its college cheerleader squad. >> i wanted my dream to become true to become a cheerleader. >> the platville town added eight area kids with disabilities making it the first college in the nation to join what's called the sparkle effect. it's a nationwide program created to give disabled kids a shot at cheerleading. a texas rodeo star has been amazing. whiplash the cowboy monkey is a fan favorite each time he rides into the arena on his trustee

canine. his trainer plans to keep the show going as long as people want to see him ride. big upset in college basketball. florida faced unranked arkansas and took the early lead and cruising to an easy win here. then in overtime, number 3 michigan led by two point and then stopped number 10 ohio state from scoring as time ran out and the wolverines beat the buckeyes 76-74, go, blue. in baseball, ryan braun admits he consulted with a doctor at a florida clinic tied to performance enhancing drugs but braun says it only concerned his appeal of a 2011 positive drug test. lindsay vonn crashed that world championship in austria suffering a broken bone. she is done for the season, but she is expected to be back in time for the 2014 winter olympics in russia, which begin in exactly one year from today. an estimated 200,000 people

joined in the celebration to welcome home the super bowl champion baltimore ravens. looking ahead to next year's cold weather super bowl, the nfl is debunking reports that metlife stadium in new jersey. the league's message, "chill out." pregame and half-time shows in stadium. we're looking forward to that. just ahead, is the star wars franchise about to go the way of jobba the hut. pint-size player around. a preview before you meet him here on "today" show.

welcome back on this wednesday morning. watching a lot of clouds in the northwest and just some light rain and showers. not going to pour on you. temperatures in the mid-40s. at least it's not all that cold. a good deal of clouds increasing during the day in southern portions of oregon and california looked okay. a lot of clouds to get rid of early today, especially south of l.a. as we go into thursday, we'll sneak showers further down the coast. l.a., san diego, you're dry, but up around san francisco and l.a., a few showers there on thursday.othing too heavy. what did people do during the great super bowl blackout. viewership of the canine football game increased 44% during the blackout failure. those hoping for a "friends" reunion will get their wish when

cox appears on matthew perry. back together, again, then. disney announced with a new episode they're planning several stand-alone "star wars" films. a new "star wars" film every year for better or worse. that reminds me of another series. something to do with vampires. new details emerging that chris brown/frank ocean scuffle. ocean who came out last year said he heard someone use a gay slur during the fight but could not confirm if it was brown or not. brown threatened to shoot him during the fight, but despite all this, he's not pressing charges. this comes from us in temple, texas, where one woman is making sure homecoming soldiers are welcome back with open arms. elizabeth laird has a hug waiting for each soldier returning from the battlefield. by her estimate, the 81-year-old

has hugged over half a million servicemen since 2003. this june she'll celebrate ten years of handing out hugs. love people like that. i'm richard lui and this is "early today" just your first stop of the day here on your nbc station.

some bandits in germany may have something of a sweet tooth. a 100-year-old bronze cookie statue belonging to a famous german bakery was finally found after being stolen last month. a cookie monster ransom note

demand they donate cookies to certain charities. the 44-pound cookie was later found perched on a statue at a local university. nobody ate it. some fluffy cubs are taking center stage. five cheetah cubs are making their bublic debut at a zoo in tokyo. two of the youngsters born with the markings of a king cheetah. a very rare breed. with the addition of the new cubs the zoo is home to a total of 22 of these felines. they're going to get big. in the latest viral video little 2-year-old has some serious game. the tiny taught is a basketball prodgy. bam. he can shoot the ball any chance he gets. he's good, man. impressive shot after shot. always lands in the basket. look in that. he wasn't even looking. off the wall. one handed. look at that. be sure to catch "today" show by the way tomorrow morning for an exclusive in-studio interview with titus and his parents. >> if he does the behind the

head shot live on the "today" show i'll believe it. >> i'm watching "today" show for that one. >> pick up some tips, too. time now for an early look ahead and a look back for you. comedian chris rock is heading up an a-list group on capitol hill today. number of celebrities supporting new gun control package, including background checks and ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. after admitting to using performance enhancing drugs they have set today's deadline for armstrong to fully cooperate in its investigation. in return, his lifetime cycling ban could be lifted. and on this day back in 1971, alan shepherd became the first astronaut to play golf on the moon. he hit two golf balls and joked that they went miles and miles and miles. no birdies there, i guess. all day long, you can stay on top of the very latest developments and those stories and others as they break on.

finally, here's a look at what's coming up later on "today" show. the exclusive live report of monopoly new year makeover. which new token was broken in and which is going to jail forever. meet winter olympic hopefuls as they take on rockefeller with high-flying stunts as today counts down to sochi 2014. keep it on this channel for continuing news, sports and more. thanks for watching "early today." your first stop of the day here on your nbc station. have a great wednesday.

haunting cell phone video of a 13-year-old bay area girl just before she's found dead. the final photo police hope will help catch a killer. >> we have new video overnight after a massive earthquake and tsunami takes place in the south

pacific. >> and the vote today that could change the face of the boy scouts of america. >> let's look live outside by tpthe city by the bay. the bay bridge a beautiful sight on wednesday, february 6. this is "today in the bay." >> announcer: from nbc bay area, this is "today in the bay." >> it is 4:30. good morning to one and all. i'm john kelli. >> i'm laura garcia-cannon. let's check the forecast. good morning. >> hey. happy hump day. let's get to the numbers. 39 degrees to start out in livermore. 40 degrees in san jose. 42 in san mateos. we are going to see a warmer afternoon with more sunshine. then the rain moves in. 4:31. first a quick look at the drive with mike. >> a quick look